Google is stopping one of the most controversial advertising formats: ads inside Gmail that scan users’ email contents. The decision didn’t come from Google’s ad team, but from its cloud unit, which is angling to sign up more corporate customers.

Alphabet Inc.’s Google Cloud sells a package of office software, called G Suite, that competes with market leader Microsoft Corp. Paying Gmail users never received the email-scanning ads like the free version of the program, but some business customers were confused by the distinction and its privacy implications, said Diane Greene, Google’s senior VP of cloud. “What we’re going to do is make it unambiguous,” she said.

Ads will continue to appear inside the free version of Gmail, as promoted messages. But instead of scanning a user’s email, the ads will now be targeted with other personal information Google already pulls from sources such as search and YouTube. Ads based on scanned email messages drew lawsuits and some of the most strident criticism the company faced, but offered marketers a much more targeted way to reach consumers.

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Source:: AdAge – Digital

Brands big and small are experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI), with varying levels of success. Amazon uses AI to predict what you want to buy; Spotify leverages it to select music for your playlists; and digital assistants like Apple’s Siri are AI tools personified.

But among those successes are plenty of missteps. As far as the technology has come, AI isn’t foolproof, in part because the humans who design it aren’t. But let’s not take down the companies that make mistakes: by pushing boundaries in the AI world, they’re offering valuable lessons to the rest of us. Here are the lessons from four recent AI bloopers.

Home invasion

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China’s broadcasting regulator ordered Weibo Corp. and two other internet media firms to halt video and audio webcasting, accusing them of operating without a license and disseminating opinions potentially harmful to social stability.

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television said services operated by companies including Weibo — often called China’s Twitter — had been broadcasting negative commentary in violation of government regulations. The regulator didn’t say what action had been taken, and Weibo declined to comment while it studies the order.

The regulatory ban could disrupt a revival for Weibo that’s getting underway. The messaging service controlled by Sina Corp. has turned to video streaming over the past year to rejuvenate growth. The company has since reignited user interest, pushing its typical monthly audience to 340 million people — surpassing Twitter’s — and its stock market value above $16 billion. Chairman Charles Chao is now focused on expanding Weibo into areas including news aggregation and live video streaming. Weibo’s advertising and marketing revenue increased 42% in 2016, reaching $571 million.

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Source:: AdAge – Digital

Andrew Fitzpatrick, online-famous for his humorous beat-boxing videos under the pseudonym 80Fitz, makes money from work for brands as an influencer, incorporating their products into his videos. The problem? There aren’t clear rules for how to say he’s been paid.

“I’ve done 25 to 30 campaigns for Fortune 500 companies and I think over the years the disclosure practices have literally never been consistent,” he said. “Sometimes they want a hashtag, sometimes they don’t require any disclosure at all.” The hashtags vary, too, from the clear #ad label to the more vague #partner.

The Federal Trade Commission requires these sponsored influencer posts on social media such as Instagram and Twitter to disclose that they’re ads. The agency sent several dozen warning letters to brands and online celebrities earlier this year to remind them to do so. Still, the practice isn’t consistent. Now Fitzpatrick is pinning his hopes on a new trade group to clear things up.

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News Corp., publisher of the Wall Street Journal and the Times of London, is holding “very advanced” discussions with Facebook about subscriptions to its content online, CEO Officer Robert Thomson said.

“I’ve been talking with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, exchanging thoughts, on how important it is that the value of content should be recognized,” Thomson said in an interview at a media industry conference on Wednesday in Turin, Italy. “We are in the middle of negotiations with Facebook on a subscription mechanic.”

Earlier at the conference, Thomson attacked the digital walled gardens used by technology companies such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook. “They are made to keep people in, this is not free movement of people,” he said in the interview. “Particularly Google is a problem.”

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Intel plans to sponsor the Olympics through 2024 in the company’s latest bid to show off its technology through high-profile sports events.

The chipmaker said it will partner with the International Olympic Committee to bring Intel’s technology, such as virtual reality, 360-degree video, artificial intelligence and drones, to enhance the Olympic Games.

Intel is signing on at a time when global interest in the Olympics is waning. TV ratings have fallen and cities have dropped out of the running to host the games as costs spiral. Yet for Intel, the sponsorship is part of a broad push into sports after it launched a group to explore such deals last fall, seeking to highlight initiatives other than its main computer processor business. The Santa Clara, California-based company has been harnessing VR and other technology to heighten the fan experience during baseball, basketball and football games.

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In an attempt to dramatically upset the established order of cellphone carriers in the United States, Virgin Mobile has struck a deal with Apple to make consumers an offer that seems too good to be true: one year of unlimited talk, text and data for $1.

Virgin Mobile is using other Virgin brands, such as its hotel chain and airline, to further lure customers into giving its prepaid service a chance. People who sign up with Virgin Mobile will also be added into the “Virgin Inner Circle,” which includes perks like a free one-night stay at a Virgin hotel or a “companion ticket” for flights to the U.K.

Angela Rittgers, chief marketing officer at Virgin Mobile, told Ad Age that its “biggest struggle is how to make sure consumers understand there is no gimmick behind this.”

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Travis Kalanick has resigned from his job leading Uber Technologies, giving up on his effort to hold onto power as a torrent of self-inflicted scandals enveloped him and the global ride-hailing leviathan he co-founded.

Pressure from investors, who’ve poured more than $15 billion into a company that has burned through billions, ultimately did what the board could, or would, not: It convinced the 40-year-old chief executive to step aside. Five of Uber’s major investors, including Fidelity and Benchmark, asked Kalanick to step aside in a letter to him entitled “Moving Uber Forward,” according to people familiar with the matter.

Kalanick, who grew Uber’s bookings to $20 billion last year, has played a starring role in most of its controversies.

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By wjarvis@adage.com(Will Jarvis)

It’s fitting that two Father’s Day-inspired “dadvertisements” managed to crack this week’s viral video list. They did not, however, claim the top spot, which belongs to Samsung’s “Technical School” for the third consective week.

“Technical School” had over 18 million views in the week through Sunday, according to Visible Measures, which counts both “organic” views — those initiated by consumers — and paid ads.

“#LoveYourDad,” a McDonald’s ad from the Philippines, claimed second place, with over 14 million views. Leo Burnett Manila produced the spot, continuing its popular work for McDonald’s abroad.

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With the unveiling of Apple’s HomePod and surge in sales for Amazon Echo and Google Home, voice assistants have garnered a lot of attention.

But is it right for brands to partner with platforms like Amazon and Google? Both have a history of displacing partners.

The growth of these platforms has emerged as an exciting channel for marketers looking for ways to cut through the noise. The thought of simply saying, “Alexa, order me some shampoo?” opens up an awful lot of doors.

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Source:: AdAge – Digital